The Istanbul Convention Against Gender Based Violence

By Emilien MinerThe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, was adopted on 7 April 2011 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and entered into force on 1 August 2014. It sets the minimum standards for the prevention of gender-based violence.

The Convention is the first binding European instrument to establish
a legal framework to anticipate violence against women; it creates better
protection for victims and ensures that perpetrators are prosecuted. The
incriminated acts take the form of “psychological and/or physical
violence, sexual violence, rape, harassment, female genital mutilation, forced
marriages, forced abortion and sterilisation”. The convention also aims to
empower the police more effectively, create more accessible shelters, intensify
free and accessible telephone hotlines 24/7 and create emergency assistance
centres for victims to receive medical advice and disseminate relevant and
concise information on victims’ rights.

So far, the Convention has 46 signatory countries, 32 of
them ratified it. The first one to do so was Turkey at the beginning of 2012,
followed by 31 other States between 2013 and 2018 (these States are Albania,
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark,
Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova,
Iceland, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, San Marino,
Sweden, Switzerland).

Strong Monitoring Tools

The Convention provides a range of tools for its
implementation and monitoring, including two monitoring bodies:

A group of independent experts, the Group of
Experts on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO),
which was initially composed of 10 members and expanded to 15 members after the
25th ratification

A political body, the Committee of Parties,
which is composed of representatives of the Parties (countries that have
ratified) to the Istanbul Convention

This mechanism is accompanied by two monitoring procedures.
There is a country-by-country assessment procedure and a special investigation
procedure.

The country-by-country assessment procedure begins with a general
evaluation, which is then followed by evaluation cycles every four years. In
this context, GREVIO submits questionnaires to the Parties and may request
additional information. It also takes into account information received from
relevant Council of Europe bodies and bodies established under other
international instruments: namely the United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women, non-governmental organisations and
national human rights institutions.

GREVIO may initiate a special investigation procedure if it
receives reliable information indicating that measures are necessary to prevent
the occurrence of a serious, widespread or recurrent phenomenon related to any
act of violence covered by the Convention. In such a case, GREVIO may request
the Party concerned to submit a special report as a matter of urgency. Taking
into account the information at its disposal, GREVIO may appoint one or more of
its members to conduct an investigation and report the results to it. Where
necessary and with the agreement of the Party, the investigation may include a
visit to the country concerned.

The Situation in Europe

Data on violence against women are still insufficiently
disseminated. In order to clarify this landscape at the European level, it
seems relevant to express some key figures from the 2014 report of the European
Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, indicating the extent of physical and
sexual violence committed against women. The data is overwhelming: “one in
three women admits to having experienced at least one form of physical and/or
sexual violence since the age of 15” and “one in 20 women has been
raped”. This sexual violence constitutes a real violation of fundamental
human rights and causes disorders in women’s health and well-being.

This type of brutal action concerns all the countries of the
Union and can occur in any place at any time. It can be understood as one of
the causes of inequalities between women and men. Thus, in order to put an end
to this situation of distress, it is necessary to strengthen the methods of
action and in particular the legal arsenal in this area.

Offering a better protection, the text also benefits migrant
women within the ratifying countries. A woman enduring domestic violence for
example can thus apply for asylum. These women will be allowed to apply for an “autonomous
residence” permit. The treaty applies in time of peace as well as in time
of armed conflict.

Successes and Challenges Since its entry into force, more than 52 cases related to violence against women and 48 cases concerning domestic violence have been brought to the European Court of Human Rights, under the Istanbul Convention. Despite this positive trend, attitudes seem difficult to change and streets and households are far from being a safe environment for numerous women. Violence and inequalities must not only be fought through law, but also with a voluntary intervention of States, in the field of education and in providing sufficient infrastructure and protection mechanisms. Policies leading to deep structural changes in our societies should be initiated to anticipate violence rather than treating it.

As part of his studies in international relations, specialising in the MENA region, Emilien spent three months in Amman, Jordan at the International Organization for Migration. He then moved to Tunisia to study the role of Tunisian civil society in the country’s democratic transition. His research led him to the “Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network” where he had the opportunity to work for two years.